Boot or shoe



No. 615,069. Patented Nov. 29, i898. W. LAWES.

BOUT 0B SHOE.

(Application filed Apr. 12, 1897.) (N o M n d e i Hummm 'i ler lames Jhfomjzys,

ma nonmx PETERS co., Pnm'oumo.. WASHINGTON. o. c

UNITED STATES PATENT EEICE.

/VALTER LAVVES, OF NEW BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF THREE-FOURTHS TO HARRY NV. LAWES AND IDA RUSSELL JANELL, OF SAME PLACE, AND WILLIAM- LAVVES, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

BOOT OR SHOE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 615,069, dated November 29, 1898.

Application filed April 12, 1897.

To a/ZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WALTER LAwEs, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Bedford, in the county of Bristol and State of Massachusetts, have invented a -new and useful Boot or Shoe, of which the following is a specication.

This invention relates to certain improvements in welted boots and shoes; and the object of the invention is to improve the construction and 4arrangement of the insoles of such shoes which are provided with means for the attachment of the welt and upper thereto, so as to lessen the expense of manufacturing the same.

A further object that I have in view is toV provide an improved construction by which the central part of theinsole is rendered ilexible, while its feather is strengthened and reinforced to provide for the secure attachment of the welt and upper. I

Vith these ends in view my invention consists of an insole made of a single ply or layer of leather of uniform thickness throughout its entire area,l a binding inclosing the marginal edge of the insole and cemented permanently thereto to produce a hard relativelyunyielding feather, an offstanding lip or flange applied edgewise to the binding, and stitches which pass through the lip, binding, and the stiffene'd feat-her of the insole.

The invention also contemplates certain novel features of the construction, combination, and arrangement of the various parts of the improved insole whereby certain important advantages are attained and the device is made simpler, cheaper, and otherwise better adapted and more convenient for use, all as will be hereinafter fully set forth.

The novel features of theinvention will be carefully defined in the claims.

In order that my invention may be the better understood, I have shown in the accompanying drawings two embodiments thereof, in Which- Figure l is a perspective view showing one form of insole constructed according to my invention, and Fig. 2 is an enlarged section taken transversely through the insole, as

Serial No. 631,806. (No model.)

unprovided at its edges with the ordinary slitfor separating the feather-edge from said lips or flanges. the feather of the insole are consequently of substantially the same thickness as the central or body portion of the insole, so that, as will be obvious, leather of considerably less thickness may be employed for the manufacture of the soles according to my invention than is required for soles constructed in the ordinary way.

The Aedge portions of the sole l are provided with bindings 2, by preference of textile fabricsuch as canvas, for examplew-these bindings being extended over the edges of the insole and having their opposite edges arranged on the opposite upper and lower surfaces of the insole, the bindings being cemented to the insole by means of gutta-percha or other suitable material, as seen at 3, so that the feather formed around the edge of the insole is made comparatively hard even Where the leather employed for forming the insole i's comparatively thin, so that the central portion of the sole may be made flexible.

To' form the projecting lip or flange for the attachment of the Welt and upper, I employ a strip 4, which may be of leather, canvas, or other suitable material, being secured at its central portion to the under side of the insole by'means of a row of stitches 5, extending through it and the insole and also passing through and serving to hold in place the edge portions of the binding 2, which overlap the upper and lower surfaces of the edge portions of the insole. By this arrangement it will be seen that the edges of the strip 4 project from The edge portions which form the under side of the insole, so as to form lips or flanges on the insole corresponding to the lips or flanges produced by channeling the sole in the ordinary way.

In manufacturing the shoes the edges of the upper 6 are carried down over and under the feather-edge of the insole, as shown in Fig. 3, and the welt 7, together with the upper, is sewed fast to the projecting flanges or lips produced by the strip 4 by means of stitches 8 passing through the three parts, and in order to prevent the stitches 5, which serve to hold the strip 4C to the insole, from being cut by the machine in sewing the welt I prefer to arrange a center piece 9 on the under side, said center piece being cut to fit snugly within the flanges or lips produced by the strip 4, as clearly shown in the drawings.

By the construction and arrangement above described it will be seen that the improved insole may be made of leather of considerably less thickness than is required for the manufacture of insoles in the ordinary way, so that a considerable saving in material is made, and also the central portion of the insole is made flexible, which is not possible where the sole is constructed of thick leather in the ordinary way. Moreover, since the insole is not required to be channeled to produce the lips or flanges for the attachment of the welt and upper it is evident that leather of an inferior quality may be employed for manufacturing the insoles according to my invention, whereas for the manufacture of insoles in the ordinary way the best quality of leather is required. Furthermore, by providing the feather-edge of the insole with a binding 2 of canvas or other material cemented to the upper and lower edge surfaces of the insole it is evident that a feather-edge of considerable rigidity is provided, even where the body portion of the insole is made of comparatively thin leather, so that by this construction of the insole the body portion of the same may be made flexible, while the edge portions of the sole are formed into a hard feather, serving to hold the upper in shape.

The construction shown in Fig. 4f is very similar to the construction above described, except that the edges of the insole 17 are radially incised or slitted to permit the insertion in said incision or slit of the upper ply 18 of the binding 1f), which extends over and stiens the feather-edge, the lower ply 2O of said binding being cemented on the under side of the sole, as above described, and the strip 21, of which the lips or flanges for the attachment of the welt and upper are formed, being secured to said feather-edge by means of stitches 22 passing through the two plies of the binding and the lower part of the slitted edge portion of the sole. When the binding and strip 2l have been secured in place, the upper part 23 of the sole is turned over on top of the ply 1S of the binding and secured in place by means of cement, so as to protect the' stitches by which the parts are held to the sole, and it will be seen that this construction affords a sole having a perfectly smooth top surface, having no inequalities or stitches, so as to impart a finished appearance to the inside of the shoe. By this construction it will be seen that the insole may be made from leather of an inferior quality and of considerably less thickness than is required for the manufacture of insoles in the ordinary way, so that the central portion of the insole may be made flexible, while the feather, being bound with canvas or other material cemented thereto, is made sufficiently hard to hold the upper in position.

From the above description it will be seen that the insoles constructed according to my invention are made flexible and are provided with a hard feather, even though made from inferior leather, in a simpler and more economic manner, and it will also be obvious from the above description that the invention is susceptible of some modification without material departure from its principles and spirit, and for this reason I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the precise form and arrangement of the parts herein set forth.

Having thus described 'my invention, I claim- 1. An insole for boots and shoes consisting of a layer or ply of leather uniform in thickness throughout its area, a binding cemented to the marginal edge of the insole layer and forming therewith a stiffened feather, and an IOO offstanding lip or flange stitched edgewise to the binding and feather of the insole and projecting therefrom to form a means for the attachment of the upper and welt, substantially as and for the purposes described.

2. An insole for boots and shoes comprising a ply or layer of leather, a binding which overlaps the marginal edge of the insole layer or ply, a waterproof cement which unites the binding to the insole layer and forms therewith a stiened feather, an upper-attaching flange applied edgewise to the cemented binding, and stitches which unite said flange to the binding and stiffened feather of the insole,sub stantially as and for the purposes described.

3. An insole for boots and shoes consisting of a layer or ply of leather, a binding cemented to the marginal edge of said insole layer and forming therewith a stiffened feather, an upper-attaching flange formed of a doubled length or strip having its folded edge fitted to the binding within the stiffened feather, and stitches which pass through the doubled edge of the flange, the binding and the stiffened insole-feather, substantially as and for the purposes described.

4. An insole for boots and shoes comprising a layer or ply of leather, a binding cemented to the marginal edge of said insole layer and forming therewith a stiened feather, a flange stitched to the binding and feather of the insole layer, and a protective layer united to IIO the insole layer within the limits ofthe ange, substantially as described.

5. An insole for boots and shoes comprising a layer or ply of leather having a radial incision in the marginal edge thereof, a binding cemented to the slitted edge of said insole layer, and an upper-attaching flange stitched to the binding and with parts of the stitches conned within the slitted edges which are cemented together, substantiallyas described.

6. An insole for boots and shoes comprising a layer or ply of leather having a radial incision in the marginal edge thereof, a binding cemented to one lip of the incised edge of said insole layer, a doubled flange fitted to VALTER LAVVES.

Vitnesses:

LEM. T. WILLcoX, J AMES P. MAcoMBER. 

